A New Beginning: A Freddie and Cat story
by Azkadellio
Summary: When Freddie learns that he's moving to LA when his mother gets a job offer, his life takes an unexpected twist. He leaves behind the life he's made in Seattle, but gains a new life in Hollywood. Challenge by Challenge King. T for some language. On hiatus until further notice.
1. 1-Upsetting News

Freddie Benson sits in his room after school. The end of his Junior year is in a couple of days, and he sits at his desk, going over last minute assignments. Tomorrow is the final exams, and even though he knows he can pass them, he wants to study to make sure he knows everything.

He was supposed to talk to Carly and Sam about iCarly ideas, but he wanted to study instead. He knows Sam is over at the Shay apartments, doing whatever Sam usually does.

His mother is at work, but lately, she seems a bit out of it at home. T-Bo's at the Groovy Smoothie a lot, figuring out what all he can put on a stick. When Freddie asked him if he knew why his mother was acting the way she was, he shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say.

Finally, around six in the afternoon, both Mrs. Benson and T-Bo get back. Mrs. Benson heads towards the kitchen, telling the two men that dinner will be ready by seven, and to do whatever until then. Freddie decides to go to the Shay's to hang out, T-Bo going with him.

"Hey, T-Bo?" Freddie asks as the open the door to enter the hallway. "You know why my mom has been acting so weird lately?"

"Nope. We barely talk." T-Bo answers, opening the door to the Shay's. "Something with work I guess. She told me she has an important announcement to tell us during dinner though."

"Huh. Okay. Thanks." Freddie says, walking to the kitchen with T-Bo, where Carly and Sam are sitting.

"What's with the face, Fredward?" Sam says with a scowl as Freddie takes a seat on the couch. Ever since the break-up, tension has been thick between the two teens.

"Nothing, Sam." Freddie says, facing his two female friends. "So, any new ideas for iCarly? We haven't thought of anything yet."

"Nothing yet." Carly says, pulling a notebook out of her backpack. "Why are you and T-Bo over here? You usually take care of stuff at your place."

"Mrs. Benson basically told us to get out for an hour." T-Bo says, taking a seat on the chair beside the couch. "She's been acting all wonky lately."

"She's always wonky." Sam says, getting up from the couch. "I'm grabbing something to eat." She says, heading to the kitchen.

"She's worse than usual." T-Bo supplies when no one says anything after shrugging their shoulders in agreement to Sam's comment about Mrs. Benson.

"How so?" Carly asks, placing the notebook down on the table in front of her.

"She's been acting kinda rushed." Freddie says, earning a nod of agreement from T-Bo. "Over the last few days she's been acting somewhat secretive or something."

"And she's no her self." T-Bo adds. "She's not as crazy as she was before, which freaks me out man."

"And apparently, she has some big news to tell T-Bo and me during dinner tonight." Freddie finishes, leaning against the couch.

"Any idea what it could be?" Carly asks as Sam sits back on the couch, eating a can of pie filling.

"Nope." "No idea." Freddie and T-Bo say simultaneously.

"Okay. Now that Freddie's mom's crazy is taken care of," Sam starts, her tone bored. "Let's talk about iCarly bits. You two talk, I'll eat." She finishes with, taking a spoonful of the filling.

The next 45 minutes are filled with the three teens talking about ideas. Sam got involved finally when Carly threatened not to let her eat at the Shay's apartment, after saying that Spencer's getting meat for dinner tomorrow. Sam helped for a chance to get meat.

At 10 to 7, Mrs. Benson knocks on the Shay's door, opening it and standing in the doorway.

"Freddie. T-Bo. Dinner's almost ready. Can you two come back over please?" She asks, not walking in.

"Uh, sure." Freddie says, getting off the couch. "How'd you know we were here?"

"I called Spencer and he informed me you were here. Come on." She says, trying to rush them out.

Across the hall, T-Bo and Freddie was their hands in the kitchen sink before sitting down at the table to eat. Freddie and T-Bo exchange looks when they see what Mrs. Benson prepared.

"Uh, Mrs. Benson." T-Bo says, sounding a little confused. "Since when do you make spaghetti tacos?"

"I remember you two saying you like when Spencer makes them, so I decided to make it tonight." Mrs. Benson answers, sounding distracted.

"Yeah, but you don't like them." Freddie states, staring at his mother in disbelief. "What's going on mom?" He asks, serious.

"Well, I don't know how to say this, but we're moving to LA." Mrs. Benson says, finally looking at her son.

"What about me? I can't leave the Groovy Smoothie." T-Bo adds in after a few moments of silence.

"I talked to Spencer. He's okay with you moving in over there." She answers him, turning her attention to her son after. "Do you have anything to say, Freddie?"

"I'm gonna finish studying. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." T-Bo and Mrs. Benson watch as Freddie excuses himself from the table, walking slowly to his room.

The Next Day at School

"What do you mean you're moving?" Carly asks, standing in front of her two friends, face contorted in confusion at Freddie's news.

"My mom told me and T-Bo last night. Apparently, T-Bo's moving in with you and Spencer, and I'm moving to LA with my mom." Freddie states, face blank.

"Did you do anything about it?" Sam asks, looking at Freddie, not believing what she's hearing.

"What could I do, Sam? It's like she already has everything planned. From what T-Bo told me earlier, we leave the day after school lets out."

"Do something other than roll over, Fredward!" Sam yells, making Carly and Freddie jump. "What about iCarly? Us? It's like you don't care."

"Of course I care. We leave in a few days, guys. It's too late to argue." Freddie says, his voice getting slightly louder.

"Oh, like you even tried, Benson." Sam says, glaring at the male teen.

"Look, I'm sorry. What do you want me to do? My mom already has me entered into some performing arts school there, as well as everything transferred to the new house." Freddie says, looking to Carly for help.

"Why are you moving?" Carly asks, leaning up against her locker.

"T-Bo said something about her being offered a better job. She took it, and now we're leaving after school's over." He says, his face becoming somewhat blank.

"Screw you, Benson. You're too much of a weenie to argue with your mother and you do whatever she suggests. You say you care about iCarly and your friends, yet you do nothing to stop the move."

"Sam!" Carly says as Sam goes to walk away, not bothering to say anything else. "Look, Freddie." Carly says, turning back to him. "She has a point. You've always been like this. You don't argue with whatever she says. It's like we don't matter enough for you to stay with us. Are you even going to be able to help with iCarly tonight?"

"Sorry, I can't. I have to start packing up some stuff. We might actually be leaving early. Mom wants me to finish the finals so she can have the final grades sent to the new school. I'm really sorry, Carly."

"So am I." She says sadly, dropping her head down. Without any other words, Carly turns around and walks away, in the same direction that Sam did moments ago.

Freddie watches as his friends walk away, not knowing what to say or do. All he knows is that he wishes he had a heads up, so maybe he could have worked something out to stay, but with the minimum time only two days, he doesn't see any way to stay.

I really hope they don't hate me. He thinks as he heads towards his first class of the day, which he has with Carly and Sam.

**Thank you for reading, and to Challenge King, I hope you like it so far. I don't know how often updates will be, and chapter length will vary.**

**This is a Freddie and Cat story, and cat will be seen soon. I wanted to build up the plot for a couple of chapters before we see the Benson's in LA. Does anyone know what job Mrs. Benson has, or what Cat's mom does? I want to work at least on of the jobs in, but I don't know what they are.**

**Please review, and again, thank you for reading.**


	2. 2-Seattle To LA

Over the next few days, Freddie goes over his belongings, making sure he has everything ready for the move. He has made a few attempts to talk to Carly and Sam, but they both ignore him.

They did the final iCarly the day after Freddie told them the news, but it wasn't a night of fun like the others have been. This one was a somber affair, and at the end, Freddie entered the screen, telling the fans the news. They talked after school, and Sam told Freddie that he was the one who had to tell the fans that iCarly is over.

Even though they could have gotten a new tech producer, they knew it wouldn't be the same, so they decided to end it.

The comments weren't good.

The day after the final iCarly, everyone at school ignored Freddie for leaving. He tried to explain that it wasn't his choice, but no one listened. Throughout school, he took the final exams, focusing on his friends between each exam. During the exams, he focused as much as he could on the tests, but his mind wasn't completely in it.

Finally, the morning of the move, Freddie silently loads his suitcases into the truck his mother rented for the move. He helped T-Bo move the day before, thanking T-Bo for being there for him throughout their friendship, and he thanked Spencer as well.

He helped his mother load her stuff as well, but remained silent the whole time. His mother tried to talk to him, but he rarely said anything.

The drive from Seattle to LA was long. He tried to call Carly and Sam multiple times, but the only time they answered, Sam said that she doesn't want to talk to him again, and Carly apologized for how her and Sam treated him, but he doesn't forgive him for going along with his mother's plan without complaint.

Throughout the trip, Freddie thinks back to everything from Seattle that he enjoyed.

From the moment he met Carly, and even Sam. When he realized he liked Carly as more than a friend, and realizing that they would never be more than that was okay with him. Every iCarly moment was enjoyable. Meeting Shelby Marx was one of his favorite moments, especially since she didn't hurt him for sniffing her hair. He did regret that, but some things just happen.

Every memory made him smile, then frown when it clicks that his life in Seattle is over because of a job opportunity his mom was offered.

"Hey, mom?" He asks, just over half-way to LA.

"Yes, Freddie?" She asks, a slight smile at her son talking to her for the first time since they left.

"What's the job offer you were given?" He asks, shifting slightly to face her.

"There's a new opening at the LA hospital as one of two head nurses. The chief of medicine, someone named Dr. Gibbons, called me a few weeks ago with the offer. It was too good to pass up, so I accepted."

"Did you think to ask me if I was okay with it?" Freddie asks, a hint of sadness in his tone.

"I'm sorry, Freddie, but there wasn't a lot of time to think about it." Her tone indicating how upset she is at how her son is acting. "If I had the time, I would have told you, but he only gave me a few minutes to decide."

"Then why did it take you so long to tell me about it?" He asks, finally showing his full face to her.

"I was scared of how you'd react. I know I should have told you sooner, but I couldn't bring my self to do it."

Freddie remains silent after that. He doesn't look at his mother again, he just shifts so he's facing the front of the car.

The rest of the drive is silent again. Every once in a while, Mrs. Benson would glance at her son, a frown on her face each time. Freddie wouldn't look at his mother, he either looked out to the road in front of them, or to the side, watching the road and roadside attractions on the side of the road.

Finally, they arrive at the new apartment complex they'll be living in. Freddie once again takes his stuff up to their place after getting the key and directions silently. He helps his mother take in the rest of her stuff as he takes up his stuff. He finds his room and puts some of his stuff away. The large furniture, such as closets, the couches and chairs, as well as beds and desks, were sent up the day before in a U-Haul. He helps his mother bring in the mattresses to set them up to sleep. The movers are bringing the furniture over tomorrow, so the mattresses make do for now.

Without saying goodnight to his mother, Freddie heads to his room and goes to bed, just telling his mother that after he helps the movers tomorrow, he's spending the day getting his room organized, not looking at his mother the whole time after the move.

Mrs. Benson look sadly at her son, a few tears slipping out of her eyes as her son closes the door behind him.

She goes to her room, frowning as her door closes.

**This chapter is a little shorter than I originally intended. Thank you to everyone who has read the last chapter and reviewed. Next chapter will be focused on the next day, with the Benson's moving everything in. Cat will come into play after that. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll help however I can without giving away too much.**


	3. 3-Hanging Out WIth Cat's Friends

Over the next few days, the Bensons get their new apartment ready. The day after they get to LA, the movers come with the furniture and Freddie helps them put the furniture in the appropriate room to get everything ready. Mrs. Benson went to the hospital earlier that day to talk to her new boss, Dr. Gibbons, and her new co-worker, Mrs. Valentine.

Freddie waves goodbye to the movers after they help him put the furniture in the place his mother asked, before going to his room and putting his clothes away. After putting some of his books away, he hears his mother walk into the apartment, calling his name.

"Freddie? Are you still here?"

"Yeah, mom." He says in a bored tone, leaving his room.

"Sorry I couldn't be here to help, but my boss called me in for a meeting." She says, sitting on the couch. "How much of your stuff have you put away already?"

"Almost everything. I just have to finish putting away my books and stuff for my desk. I already un-packed all of the boxed for my room." He says, sitting down far away from his mother.

"I need you to come with me tomorrow." She says, shifting slightly uncomfortably. "My co-worker has a daughter and she offered to take you around town." She says, watching her son carefully.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" Freddie asks, watching his mother.

"Do what?" She asks, unsure of what he means.

"Make plans without telling me." He says, standing up. "I'm going to my room. I'll go, but stop making plans that involve me without asking me first." He says, entering his room.

The rest of the night goes slowly for the Bensons. Mrs. Benson un-packs the kitchen and puts the pots and pans away, as well as some of the food so that it doesn't spoil. After the kitchen, she moves to her room, un-packing her stuff and putting them where they belong.

Freddie on the other hand, finishes putting his stuff away and turning his Pearbook on. The apartment has a weak wi-fi connection, so until he gets one for the apartment, he uses the apartment's.

He tries to contact Carly and Sam again, but each chance ends with the other party canceling the call when they notice it. He gives up after a few tries, he turns his Pearbook off and closing it. He check the time, groaning when he realizes it's almost 10:00 p.m. He grabs a change of clothes, a muscle shirt and gym shorts and changes before climbing into bed.

The next day, Freddie wakes up and takes a shower, changing into his clothes for the day. After grabbing his wallet and Pearphone, he heads into the kitchen to grab breakfast. Noticing a note on the kitchen counter, he picks it up and reads it.

Freddie,

I had to go in early to get some paperwork taken care of. Christine Valentine, Catarina's mother, will be dropping her off at noon. I'll see you later for dinner. I left money on the living room table for lunch for you and Catarina. Stay safe, Freddie.

Mom.

Freddie grabs a bowl of cereal and eats it, rinsing the plate off afterwards. He grabs the 30 dollars from the living room table and puts it in his wallet. He doesn't know why she gave him so much, but he won't question it. He heads back to his room and grabs his Pearbook, turning it on to work on some work for when he starts Hollywood Arts in a few months. Not paying attention to the time, he jumps slightly when there's a knock on the door. Closing his Pearbook, he leaves his room and opens the door, seeing a small redhead slightly bouncing where she stands.

"Are you Freddie?" She asks.

"Yeah. You don't remember me?" He asks, closing the door behind him as they leave.

"Should I?" She asks, sounding serious.

"We met a while ago, at Keenan Thomson's house for that party?" He asks as they continue heading towards her car. "Your friend Tori and my friend Carly found out they were being used by the same guy?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember you now." She says, giggling. "How are you?"

"I'm good. And you?"

They make small talk the rest of the short walk to her red Mitsubishi Eclipse.

"Why did you move to LA?" She asks as they pull out of the parking lot.

"My mom got a job at the same hospital as yours." He answers, looking from the window he was looking through to Cat.

"Sounds fun." She says with a smile. "Where are you going to school?" She says, pulling into the parking lot of a place called Nozu.

"Hollywood Arts." He says as they step out of her car, closing the doors behind them as Cat locks the doors.

"Ooh, you'll be going to the same school as me and my friends then!" She says, hopping towards a small group of people he recognizes as her friends he met at the party. "Hey guys!" She yells, hugging a goth girl he recognizes as Jade. "This is Freddie, he just moved here and he'll be starting school with us." She tells them, bouncing lightly.

"Cat, we already know him." The goth says, placing her hands on Cat's shoulders, using a calming tone as she does. "Come on. I'm hungry."

"Where's Tori?" Cat asks as they head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but isn't she the girl that dated the same guy as Carly?" Freddie asks, chiming in.

"Yeah, one and the same. She's inside, saving our seats." The goth says, leading the way. "I tried to make Robbie hold our table, but he wouldn't listen, so Tori volunteered." She says, pushing her way through the crowded restaurant.

"Yay!" Cat says. "Oh, Freddie, you can sit by me." She adds in, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the table, where her friends are sitting.

"So, Freddie." Tori starts from beside Jade. "What brings you to LA?"

"My mom got a job offer here in LA with Cat's mom, and it was too good to pass up, apparently." Freddie says, clearly not happy about it.

"Why do you sound like you hate it?" A tall guy across from Freddie asks.

"I didn't know about the move until a few days before." Freddie says with a sigh. "Anyway, I don't remember all of you. I remember Cat because she's hard to forget, and Tori because of the whole Steven thing." He says a little shyly.

"I'm Beck." The tall guy says as Freddie finishes talking.

"Andre." An African-American guy states from beside Beck.

"Jade." The goth says. "And if you so much as look at my girlfriend for more than a second, I'll stab you with my scissors." She finishes with, pulling out a pair of scissors and pointing them at Freddie's face.

"Wait, girlfriend?" Freddie asks when Jade's sentence clicks in his mind. "Weren't you dating him last time we met?" He asks, pointing to Beck when he asks his question.

"We broke up, idiot." Jade says. "And yes, girlfriend. This girl here, to be exact." She says, pulling Tori close to her.

"Wow. I never met lesbians before." Freddie says without thinking.

"Now you have." Tori says, diffusing the situation before Jade pulls her scissors out again.

"Sorry for the wait." A waitress says as Tori calms Jade down. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water." Everyone says, except for Tori who asks for green tea.

"Okay. I'll bring those right out. Here are you menus." The waitress says before heading to the back to get the drinks.

"So, Freddie, what are you going to Hollywood Arts for?" André asks as the waitress walks away.

"Tech theater, stuff like that." He answers, relaxing slightly. "I checked the school website earlier this week and saw what the class is like. Basically the same as what I did for iCarly, plus setting the scene kind of stuff." He says, sounding a little somber at the end.

"What's up? You sound upset." Becks asks, sounding comforting.

"Like I said, basically the same as what I did for iCarly. Sam made me do most of the work." Freddie says, still somber. "Thinking back, I remember how everything was, and now that Carly and Sam aren't talking to me because of the move."

"Give them time, maybe they'll talk to you again?" Tori tries, sounding calm.

"I hope so." Freddie says as the waitress comes over and gives everyone their drinks.

"Everybody ready to order?" She asks, taking out her pad and pen.

Everyone gives their order, Freddie going over the menu to find something, too busy to check earlier. "Okay. I'll have these for you soon." She says with a smile.

"Thanks." Beck says for everyone. "What are everyone's plans for after lunch?" He asks, sipping his water.

"Me and Tori are going to a movie. You guys can't come." Jade says, holding Tori's arm in hers.

"What movie?" Cat asks.

"The Scissoring 2." Jade says with a smirk.

"I thought we agreed on something else?" Tori says, in almost a whine.

"Sorry, babe. You lost the bet last Saturday, remember?"

"Oh, man." Tori says, pouting.

"Don't worry. You'll live." Jade says, her smirk staying strong, holding Tori close.

"Anyway." André says, drifting attention from the girls to the others. "I have to make sure my grandma doesn't do anything too crazy, well, for her anyway." He says, causing everyone but Freddie to laugh. "That's a horror movie in and of itself." He says with a sigh.

"Don't worry bro. You'll live." Beck says, patting his arm on André's shoulder. "Maybe." He says when Andre groans.

"What about you Robbie?" Cat asks, asking the one person of the group who has been oddly quiet.

"I have to take Rex on a date with a NorthRidge girl." He says, groaning himself.

"What's a NorthRidge girl?" Freddie asks, wondering why everyone groans with Robbie.

"A kind of girl you don't want to meet." Beck says, the rest of the table nodding in agreement.

"Ok then." Freddie says after a moment of semi-awkward silence.


	4. 4-Seeing LA

Freddie sits and makes small talk with Cat and her friends. They talk about when they met at Keenan Thompson's house for the party, as well as what happened after.

"Hey, Freddie." Cat says as we finish up with lunch. "What do you want to do next?"

"I don't know." He says, watching as Cat's friends, his new friends, head their separate ways after the waitress collects the check, giving a slight wave to Beck as she heads to get the change. "Where do you recommend?"

"Well, the school's open for a fundraiser for a nearby pre-school in need of supplies. We can head over there and I can show you around the school."

"Sure. Sounds good." He says with a smile, earning a giggle from Cat as she hugs him.

"Cat, release." Jade says when she notices Freddie gasping for breath. "We'll see you guys later." She says as she and Tori head out.

"See ya later chicas." André says as his phone goes off. "Hello?" He asks as he answers his phone.

"ANDRE! THERE'S AN ANIMAL UNDER THE SINK AND I CAN'T FIND IT!" Everyone hears from his phone.

"Grandma, calm down. Did you bump the switch by the dish drainer again?" André asks as he speaks into the mouth piece, while holding the speaker away from his ear.

"I THINK!" His grandma yells again.

"Is your speakerphone on?" Freddie asks, holding his hand over his ears from the yelling.

"Nope. Volume's low too." André says with a frown. "I'm on my way, just don't put your hand down the drain. Okay?" He says, going from talking to Freddie to his phone.

"OKAY ANDRE!" She yells before the conversation ends.

"Is she always like that?" Freddie asks curiously.

"Yep." They all say at once.

"Let's go, Tor. I'm bored and the movie starts in an hour." Jade says, pulling Tori away from the group without a single word as Tori waves at the rest of the group.

"Bye Jadey and Tori!" Cat yells to her two retreating friends.

"Stop calling me that!" Jade yells without turning around.

"KK!" Cat says, ignoring Jade's tone. "Bye guys, I'm gonna show Freddie around town." She says, waving to the rest of her friends.

"See ya Cat and Freddie." They say to the retreating redhead and tech specialist.

A few minutes after they split with the others, Freddie speaks up.

"I have a question." He says, turning to face Cat.

"What's up?" She asks happily, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Is it okay for us to just walk into the school?" He asks curiously.

"Like I said. They fundraiser. The doors are open for people to go in and talk to everyone and make donations." She says, turning to face him quickly before facing the road again.

"And no one'll care?" He asks, making sure.

"Nope." She says, smiling brightly.

The rest of the ride is spent with more small talk, stopping momentarily as they get out.

"Cat. What are you doing here?" A male voice says from behind Freddie.

"Hey Lane." She says, waving to the guy as Freddie turns to face him. "This is Freddie, who just moved here. We're here so I can show him the school before she starts."

"Okay, just be careful." Lane says. "I'm Lane, the guidance counselor here." He says, holding his hand out to shake Freddie's, who accepts.

"Nice to meet you. Is it okay that we're here?" He asks for the third time, this time to Lane.

"As long as you stay out of trouble, you're fine." Lane says with a comforting smile.

"Told ya." Cat says, grabbing Freddie's arm. "Come on." She says, pulling him past Lane and into the school, waving to Lane as she passes.

The two teens walk into the school, with Cat telling Freddie about the rooms and areas as they pass them. She tells him about the Asphalt Cafe as they walk through it, pointing out where they usually sit, then pointing to the Grub Truck, where they get lunch from. They make their way into the school, Cat pointing out where her locker is, as well as her friends. She also tells him that Tori's 'Make It Shine' locker is practically a hang out spot for them between classes and before and after continues to show him more of the school, pointing out the Janitor's closet as they pass it, and her telling him that Jade usually hides there, and that no one is allowed in there without her permission. Freddie doubts her until she tells him that after Jade and Beck broke up for the final time that she threatened him when he walked in, looking for her. Cat laughed though when she remembered that Tori was able to go in without a fight from the Goth, which is when Cat said she realized that there was something beyond friendship between the two girls.

"This is Sikowitz's room." Cat says, opening the door to the crazy teacher's classroom.

"What does he teach?" Freddie asks, looking around the classroom.

"Acting." She says, bouncing up to the stage. "He's also a very good friend. He helps us when we need it and joins in on our crazy adventures."

"Sounds like a cool guy." Freddie says with a smile when he sees how excited Cat is acting. "Is he they guy I met at the party last year?" He asks after a moment of scanning the room.

"Uh-huh." She says, jumping off the stage and grabbing his arm, running out of the room. "Let me show you the Black Box." She says with a happy laugh.

"The Black Box?" He asks, barely keeping up with her. "You have a tight grip." He says with a laugh.

"I know. Everyone says that." She says, stopping abruptly. "This is the Black Box Theater. It's where we produce a lot of the plays we do here, as well as occasionally have some classes or meetings."

They walk around the school some more, Cat showing him where a lot of the classes are, especially where the Tech class meets, seeing as how it's why he's in Hollywood Arts.

"Ready for the rest of the tour?" Cat says as she drags him out of the school, waving to Lane as well as who Freddie remembers to be Sikowitz.

"Sure. Where else is there worth checking?" He asks as they stop in front of her car, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Well, there's Karaoke Dokie, another place we go to eat and hang out. There's a Karaoke competition there every other weekend. We go there when we want burgers instead of sushi." She says, pointing out the building as they drive by it.

They continue driving, Cat showing him various parts of LA to Freddie. After a few hours of Cat and Freddie visiting various parts of LA, they stop by the mall to walk around and grab dinner.

"Do you have everything you need for school?" Cat asks Freddie as they walk around the mall, going into various stores and grabbing a few thins. Freddie grabs a few notebooks and pens, as Cat grabs some stuff for school as well.

"Basically." He says with a smile. "Thanks for showing me around LA and hanging out with me."

"No problem." She says with a smile, hugging him. "What do you want to eat?" She asks as they walk through the food court.

"Well, we had sushi for lunch. So how about a sandwich from Subway?" He asks, slowing down slightly.

"Sure." She says, leading to the Subway stand. "Can you get me the Spicy Italian sub? No cheese, toasted, with Italian dressing please? I need to use the restroom."

"Sure." He says, telling her he'll see her in a moment as she rushes off to the women's room nearby. The line is short, so by the time she gets back, he's paying for the food. She tries to pay him back, but he declines, telling her it's no big deal and it's the least he could do for her to drive him around LA all day. They eat in friendly conversation in the table area in the middle of the food court.

Around 9, they leave the mall, heading to Cat's Eclipse. "Thanks again for showing me around town Cat." Freddie says with a friendly smile as she unlocks the doors for them.

"No problem." She says with a smile of her own as she sits down.

"Tori's having a cookout at her house tomorrow. You want to come?" She asks a few minutes later as they pull into the apartment complex Freddie's staying in.

"Sure, I guess. There's nothing planned that I know about with my mom, so I don't see why not." He says, slowly getting out.

"KK!" She says, getting out of her car to hug him again. "I'll pick you up an 11, because I doubt you know where she lives."

"That sounds good. See you in the morning Cat." He says as she gets back into her car to head home.

"Bye Freddie." She says before pulling away.

**Bit of a cliffhanger I guess. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to know that people like my stories. Until next time. Sorry for taking so long. I meant to have this chapter up sooner, but I was stuck on parts of this for some reason.**


	5. 5-The Card Game

Over the next few days, Freddie has been hanging out with Cat and, occasionally, her friends. He formed a somewhat close friendship with Robbie, another tech kid. He became a member of the gang shortly after meeting everyone, and was invited to the weekly card games at Tori's house.

"Hey, Freddie. Come in." Cat says, opening the door to the Vega house for him.

"Hey Cat." He says, stepping in as she steps to the side to give him room to enter. "What kind of card games do you usually play?" He asks, taking his jacket off and setting it on the coat rack by the door.

"A variety. Sometimes poker, but never what I want to play." She says with a child-like pout.

"What game is that?" He asks, following her into the living room and kitchen, where Tori, Jade, and André are sitting. There's a new girl as well, slightly older than Tori by the looks of it.

"Who's the dude?" The other girl says from beside Tori.

"This is Freddie." Cat says, bouncing lightly on the spot.

"We met him at the party at Keenan Thompsons's house party a while ago?" Tori says to her. "Anyway, this is my sister Trina."

"Hey Trina." Freddie says with a wave to Trina, who ignores him and grabs the deck of cards to shuffle them. "So, where's everyone else?"

"On the way." André says, taking a handful of trail mix from a bowl in the middle of the table. "Beck texted me earlier. He had to pick up Robbie and grab some soda."

"Cool. What game are we playing?" Freddie asks, taking a seat beside Cat, who sat on Jade's other side.

"I want to play 'Go Fish'." Cat says, pouting again.

"No, Cat. No 'Go Fish'." Jade says, speaking for the first time so far. "We're playing 31."

"Phooey." Cat says, earing a comforting pat on the back from Freddie.

Knock, knock, knock

"Door's open!" Trina yells, causing everyone to hold their hands over their ears from the loud screech.

"Hey guys." Beck says, opening the door, a bag of soda in his left hand, while Robbie comes in behind him with a bag with chips and M&M's in it.

"What's up man?" André says, giving him a high five when Beck gets into the kitchen, setting the chips down on the counter, taking out a party size bag of M&M's on the table by the bowl of trail mix.

"Not much." Beck says as Robbie sets the soda on the counter by the chips.

"Hey Rob." André says as Robbie sits between Freddie and Trina, André beside her. "How you been?"

"Good. You?" Robbie answers.

"Good." André says as Tori stands up.

"I'm getting a drink. Anyone want anything?" She asks as she steps to the counter and opening the bottle of Coke that Beck brought. Cat and André get up to help her when everyone says yes and tells her what they want. She grabs a few more cups and pours half of them with Coke, and the others with Sprite, the other soda Beck brought. Cat takes her Sprite and Freddie's COke over as André grabs his Coke and Sprites for Robbie and Trina. Tori grabs he Coke as well as a Coke for Jade. Beck gets up and grabs some Coke for himself before grabbing the chips and a bowl from the cupboard and filling it with the Doritos' Robbie brought in.

"Who has first deal?" Beck asks, setting the Doritos' by the trail mix as he sits down.

"I do." Jade says, grabbing the deck out of Trina's hands with a fake smile on her face when Trina glares at her.

"No fighting, you two." Tori says to both Jade and Trina. "So, Freddie." She says, hoping her girlfriend and sister don't cause a scene. "How are you liking LA so far?"

"It's good." He says with a smile as Jade finishes shuffling and starts passing out the cards. "Cat's been showing me around town, showing me the places that she and you guys visit."

"How did Carly and Sam take the news of you leaving?" André asks, not knowing what happened before Freddie came to LA.

"They didn't like it." He says, looking down slightly. "They're mad I didn't fight with my mom to stay in Seattle." He says, finally looking up, revealing his eyes show a hint of pain. "Anyway, I'm trying to talk to them, but they haven't answered my calls or texts."

"That's not nice of them." Cat says, pouting again.

"It's okay, Cat. They have a point though. I didn't do anything against my mom, but I didn't know what to say." Freddie says, waving off the concerns of the others. "So, we ready to play?"

"Let's play." André says as everyone else nods in agreement.

"So, who know how to play 31?" Jade asks, setting the deck down, placing the top card face up beside the deck. No one complains, so Jade has Tori start. Tori grabs a card from the top of the deck, setting down a three of clubs from her hand.

The game continues for close to an hour. Robbie was the first out, followed by Trina. During the next hour, André and Beck lose, leaving Freddie, Cat, Tori, and Jade. Over the next half hour, Freddie goes out, followed a few minutes later by Tori. The game continues for a while longer, Cat's competitive nature coming out, losing by a few points to Jade, who smirks in victory.

"Well, congrats on lasting this long Cat." Jade says as she collects her winnings.

"Can we play 'Go Fish' now?" Cat asks in a whine, pouting to Tori, knowing she's the one most likely to crack between her and Jade.

"Don't fall for it Tor." André says from the side.

"Vega." Jade says with a growl, noticing Tori about to crack.

"It's impossible to say no to Cat." Tori says, finally cracking.

Everyone minus Cat groan as Tori grabs the cards and starts to shuffle the cards, ignoring the looks everyone gives her.

"You're lucky you're cute." Jade says as Tori passes out the cards.

"Hey Freddie." Cat says as she collects her cards. "Where's your mom?"

"At the hospital." He says. "She still has some last minute stuff to do."

"Got any 2's?" She asks him.

"Yeah, here." He says handing her his cards.

"Yay!" She says, clapping her hands. The rest of the game goes on, Jade dropping out quickly and dragging Tori with her, an apologetic look on Tori's face as she does. The others decide to share Tori and Jade's cards, which helped Cat and André, but not so much the others. The game continues for about a half hour, Cat finally winning with a loud cheer.

"What time is it?" Freddie asks as he puts his cup in the sink and rinses it out.

"Almost 9. Why?" André says, grabbing his and Beck's to rinse them out as well.

"I got to head home." Freddie says, waving to the others. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Freddie!" Cat says, giving him a tight hug as André, Beck, Robbie, and Tori say bye, Jade waving bye simply, focused on the movie she put on when she and Tori left the game.

"Talk to you guys later." Freddie says, putting his jacket on and opening the door.

"Ooh, wait. Freddie." Cat says, rushing towards him. "Can you give me a ride home?"

"Sure. But how'd you get here?" Freddie asks, holding the door open for her.

"André gave me a lift." She says, putting her jacket on. "Bye everyone!" She yells over her shoulder, closing the door behind her and Freddie as the others wave goodbye to them.

"I wonder when those two are going to get together?" Jade says as the door closes.

"Thanks for the ride." Cat says as she climbs in the passenger seat of Freddie's mother's car.

"No problem." Freddie says, stepping into the driver's side.

The ride to the Valentine residence is filled with small talk, Freddie telling Cat about his day and Cat telling him a story about her brother.

When the arrive at Cat's house, they're laughing from a joke Freddie told, and as the laughter dies down, Freddie turns to Cat.

"Thanks for inviting me to the card game tonight. It was a lot of fun."

"No problem." Cat says with a bright smile. "We have them every Saturday night almost. You should come to them."

"I will." He says, stepping out of the car and walking Cat to the door. "See you later Cat." He says as she hugs him.

"See you Freddie. Bye." She says, still smiling, as she opens the door and closes it behind her.

'Maybe LA won't be as bad as I thought.' Freddie thinks to himself as he pulls out of the Valentine driveway a moment later.


	6. The Phone Call

**There's a time jump from last chapter to this. This one takes place a week before school starts back up. Also, I decided to throw in some of Mrs. Benson's over-protectiveness that we see in the show and made Cat a little OOC. I made her more serious from time to time, and we see a moment of that in this chapter.**

Around 9:30 a.m., Freddie wakes up by his alarm, stretching before shutting it off. Cat invited him to a cook-out at the Vega house. The Vega's recently got a new jacuzzi, so Tori decided to have the gang over for burgers and the usual cook-out food and what-not. After he rolls out of bed, he heads into the bathroom to shower, change, and brush his teeth. After stepping out, he hears his mother call for him.

"Yeah mom?"

"I have to head in early today. They're short staffed and need the help. Will you be okay for the day?"

"Yeah mom. I have the cook-out with Cat and her friends in a couple of hours. If you need me, call."

"Promise me you won't be the one using the grill."

"Mom!" Freddie says with a sigh. "Will you relax? Mr. Vega's a cop. He's the one cooking. He offered as a back to school treat for everyone."

"Okay. He knows what he's doing right?"

"Of course he knows what he's doing." Freddie says, sighing again. "Cat'll be here by around 10:30 to pick me up, so I only have about a half hour. Go to work mom, you don't have to worry."

"Okay, but if anything happens, have Mr. Vega call me." Mrs. Benson says, giving Freddie a quick hug before rushing out the door.

'Now she's worried?' He thinks to himself as the door closes. 'I've been around LA multiple times already and she hasn't worried then.' As he thinks to himself, his phone rings, he answers it without checking the caller I.D.

"Hello?"

"Hey Freddie." Freddie freezes when he hears the female voice on the other end. "How's LA?"

"Carly? I didn't expect to hear from you."

"Yeah, I know. I want to apologize for how I acted when you told us the news. I over-reacted."

"No, you didn't. You and Sam were right. I should have fought, but I couldn't for some reason."

"I'm really sorry. I was just upset that you essentially left us with little notice. We just felt like you abandoned us and iCarly."

"I would never willingly do that, I just didn't have a choice." He says with a sigh. "How are things on your end?" He asks, changing the subject.

"Well, Sam's still Sam, same with everyone else. Spencer made a sculpture out of old Groovie Smoothie cups and T-Bo now has it set up behind the register." Carly says with a laugh. "How about you?"

"Okay I guess. Remember those kids we met when Steven was two-timing you?" He asks, growling slightly when he says 'Steven'.

"The kids from Hollywood Arts? What about them?"

"Well, Cat, the little redhead we met, her mom and mine work at the hospital where my mom got her job offer, so Cat and I have been hanging out. She's been showing me around LA, and I started hanging out with her and her friends."

"That's cool. Any news?" She asks curiously.

"Not really. Mom goes to work early and comes back around 7 or 8. Our apartment has poor wifi, but I got a wireless router a week ago." He says, shrugging his shoulders. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you called."

"I know. It's just, we were friends since the beginning of iCarly, and when you left, I was upset." She says, sounding upset still.

"Have you ever wondered what would have happened to us if we never did iCarly?" Freddie asks suddenly, sitting on the couch.

"What do you mean?"

"We became close because of iCarly, but before that, we weren't exactly friends. We talked a few times and worked on homework and projects, but were never friends. iCarly is why we hung out so much, and I was just wondering that if we never started iCarly, would we be friends?" He asks, sighing.

"I don't know." She answers in a quiet tone. "I really don't."

"Carly! Time to go!" Freddie hears faintly on the other end of the line.

"Who was that?" He asks her.

"Spencer. We're going to lunch with T-Bo at Gibby's restaurant. I'll talk to you later Freddie."

"See ya. Tell everyone I say hi."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye." He says, hanging up his PearPhone and pocketing it. 'How different would everything be if it wasn't for iCarly?' He asks himself, leaning against the couch. Almost ten minutes later, there's a knock on the door, so Freddie gets up to answer it.

"Hey Freddie!" Cat says, giving him a rib-crushing hug.

"Hey Cat." He says in a strained voice. "Can you let me go? I can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." She says with a giggle, releasing him. "Are you okay?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, just thinking about something." He says as he follows Cat out, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"About what?"

"Just how different my life would be if iCarly never started."

"Why are you thinking about that?" She asks as she pushes the button for the elevator.

"Carly called while I was waiting, and we got to talking. iCarly came up and I started wondering if Carly, Sam, and I would be friends if iCarly never happened." He says as he pushes the button for the lobby.

"What'd you come up with?" She asks as the elevator doors close.

"That we probably wouldn't and I never would have met you or your friends at the party."

"How so?"

"We became close friends from working on iCarly all the time, and because of iCarly, Steven asked out Carly. No iCarly, no meeting you. Guys. You guys." He says, correcting himself in case Cat thought something else.

"Okay?" She says, slightly raising her brow in a questioning manner. "Well, even though it ended, at least you can say the iCarly gave a lot of good memories to a lot of people." She says with a smile as the doors open, Freddie leading the way out of the elevator and towards Cat's car.

Freddie agrees as they get into Cat's car, closing the doors and turning the radio on as they pull out of the parking lot. A pop song plays over the speakers, one Freddie's never heard before but recognizes the voices.

"What song is this?" He asks curiously.

"Oh, Jade and I did a duet a couple of years ago at Karaoke Dokie. The DJ recorded the song and gave it to us on cds. I put that song and every other song me and my friends sang on my PearPod. This one is called 'Give It Up'. Do you like it?"

"Yeah." He says with a smile. "I knew you had an amazing voice from when we sang at the party, but hearing you and Jade harmonize is awesome."

"Thanks. Tori and Jade did a duet too. Want to hear that one next?"

"Sure."

"KK." She says, and a couple of minutes later when the song ends, she hands her PearPod to him and asks him to look up 'Take A Hint', which he does, and at the end of the song, says that they sound awesome together too. "I know right? I knew since they did the play that they would make such a cute couple."

"What play? What does the song have to do with a play?" He asks curiously.

"Oh, Sikowitz had them act as husband and wife for a play, but they weren't good together, so he had them go out on a date to get a feel for each other. Afterwards, when they did the play, they seemed so good together."

"When was this play?"

"A few months or so after we met. Why?"

"Because I could have sworn that Jade was dating that model looking guy."

"Oh, she was at the time. They broke up like a month after the party, then got together again a few months after the play, then broke up again at the end of school last year." She says in a quick breath.

"When did Tori and Jade get together?"

"Two months after Jade and Beck broke up. Beck wasn't mad. Apparently, the break-up was mutual, and Beck broke up with her because he knew she liked Tori and that Tori liked her."

"That was nice of him." Freddie says to himself, but louder than he intended because Cat nods in agreement. "So, who's all going to be at the cook-out?"

"Just the usual gang. And Trina."

"Wait, Trina's not a part of the group?"

"Not a lot of people like her. In fact, I think Tori and I are the only ones that do. The others kind of tolerate her for Tori's sake."

"I'm guessing Jade doesn't because I saw some glares between them when we first hung out at the beginning of summer."

"Yeah, they hate each other." She says like it's no big deal. "We're here." She says, pulling into the Vega driveway.

"Is there anything that's coming in?" Freddie asks as they go to climb out of the car.

"Nope. Everything's already here."

"Okay. Lead the way." He says, following Cat up to the door.

**A bit of a cliffhanger. This chapter was originally going to contain the cook-out, but I left that out to have that be the entire next chapter. Chapters may become longer, if anyone wants them to be.**

**Thank you for reading and for your reviews. I'm going on vacation to Puerto Rico for a couple of weeks to visit family, and I don't know if they have internet, so I may not be able to update until after. Also, my grandma and cousins are apparently staying at my house with me and my mom for a week after, so I don't know how often I can get out to the library to update, but I'll try to at least once.**

**Blessed Be.**


	7. The Cookout Part 1

**Freddie has met Mrs. Vega between chapters 5 and 6 but not Mr. Vega yet.**

**Another chapter. I wrote this while sitting on my aunt's couch while my cousin plays 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' on his laptop while still on vacation.**

"Hey Cat." Tori says with a smile as she opens the door when Cat and Freddie knock. "Hey Freddie. Glad you guys could make it." She says with a smile as she hugs them.

"5." Jade starts counting from the couch as her girlfriend hugs their two friends.

"Relax. You know I'm yours." Tori says, sitting beside Jade on the couch. "My dad'll be here in a minute or so with the burgers. Is there anything else you want?" She asks Freddie and Cat.

"No. Just the usual." Cat says, sitting beside Freddie on the opposite couch. "Where are the others?" She asks, looking around.

"Beck left to pick up André and Robbie. Trina's upstairs, waiting for Beck to get back." Tori says, rubbing the back of Jade's hand while music plays over the stereo.

"Is this all that's coming?" Freddie asks while Cat shifts closet to him.

"Yeah. We're a small group." Cat says, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hey girls. You must be Freddie." Mr. Vega says as he opens the door.

"Good morning sir." Freddie says, standing up and helping him bring in the bags.

"Thanks for the help." Mr. Vega says, leading Freddie into the kitchen.

"Where's Mrs. Vega?" Freddie asks, setting the bag of chips on the table as Mr. Vega sets the bags of patties and soda's on the counter.

"She's at work." He says, opening the fridge and putting the bottles of soda's in the fridge.

"She works on a Saturday?" Freddie asks, taking the chips out of the bag and putting the bags of chips on the counter.

"Yeah. There's a case that she needs to be ready for in a few days." He says, taking the patties out and heading for the backyard. "When the guys get here, tell them I'll be in the back."

"Okay." Tori says with a smile as her father closes the door behind him.

"Why did he say that about the guys?" Freddie asks, taking his seat beside Cat.

"Beck and André want to help. They also want to teach Robbie how to use a grill." Tori answers. "Did you guys bring your swim suits? We have a pool and we got a Jacuzzi recently."

"Yeah. It's in my bag." Cat answers with a smile.

"I didn't bring anything. I didn't know you had a pool." Freddie says, sitting down.

"It's okay. Tori's dad will lend you a pair." Cat says, almost sitting on Freddie's lap.

"Are you two dating yet?" Jade asks as the guys get there.

"Is who dating yet?" Robbie asks, eyeing Cat with adoration in his eyes that turn into confusion at where she's sitting.

"Cat and Freddie. They've been awful close lately." Jade says, frowning at Tori when the Latina smack her arm. "What was that for?"

"Are you trying to embarrass them?" Tori says to Jade as Beck and André head outside to meet with Mr. Vega.

"What? How is it embarrassing them if I'm trying to help them get together?" Jade asks.

"I don't think they want you talking about their dating life." Tori answers, standing up. "I'll be back. I'm gonna see if my dad or any of the guys have an extra suit for you Freddie."

"Thanks Tori." Freddie says as Tori leaves with a wave.

"Seriously. You two should date." Jade says as the back door closes behind Tori.

"Why are you so curious?" Cat asks, looking at her child-hood best friend.

"Dating Tori made me nicer to my friends. You're my best friend. You and Freddie don't look bad together, and Freddie seems nice for you." Jade defends herself as Tori enters the house again.

"Beck says he brought a couple of extra suits. Apparently, Jade still scares the pee out of Robbie so Beck comes prepared." Tori says, tossing a pair of swim trunks to Freddie as she sits on Jade's lap.

"Who do you think I am, Santa?" Jade asks with a smirk.

"Maybe. Hottest Santa I've ever seen." Tori says as Freddie goes into the downstairs bathroom to change.

"Hey girls." Mr. Vega says, opening the door. "Where's Robbie?" He asks, opening the fridge and getting a bottle of water for himself.

"Don't know. He was here with they guys, but disappeared." Tori says, looking around.

"Where's Freddie?" Mr. Vega asks, drinking some of the water.

"Changing. When's the food done?" Jade asks, making Mr. Vega laugh.

"In a minute or so." Mr. Vega says, going for the back door. "I'll call you girls when it's done."

"Thanks dad." Tori says to her father, watching him leave. "Must you be rude to my dad?" She asks her girlfriend when the door closes.

"He's okay with it. You saw him laugh." Jade says, acting innocent.

"Freddie's back." Cat says with a smile as Freddie enters the living room.

"I'm gonna change." Jade says, standing up. "If the food's done and I'm not back, wait for me." She tells Tori, giving her a kiss.

"Got it." Tori says, watching Jade leave.

"I'm gonna go change too. I wanna swim." Cat says, standing up and heading for the downstairs bathroom.

"Where's Jade changing if Cat's using the bathroom?" Freddie asks, draping a towel over his shoulder.

"My room. It's where she left her bag in my room." Tori says, standing up and stretching. "When she gets back, I'm gonna change. We'll meet you guys outside." She says as Cat comes out.

"Let's go Freddie." She says, dragging him outside to swim.

**Not really a cliffhanger. Kinda is. Next chapter will be more of the cookout. Sorry it's so short. I do intend to make future chapters longer, if it helps.**

**Thank you for reading, and please review.**

**Blessed Be.**


	8. The Cookout Part 2

**Interesting fact about my cousin playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as I mentioned last chapter, when he does the ambulance missions, he only saves the people in the ambulance. He ran over close to 30 others while doing the mission once. I laughed when he said "I'm saving lives. Those people don't matter."**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

_Freddie's POV_

I'm surprised at the strength Cat has as she pulls me outside. We get out and see Mr. Vega and the guys grilling, Robbie looking at the others awkwardly.

"Hey guys." Beck says with a smile as we get near them.

"Hi Beck. Hi André. Hi Robbie. Hi Mr. Tori's dad." Cat says politely to them. "We're going to swim."

"Have fun." Mr. Vega says with a smile.

"No one look at my girlfriend." Jade says as she joins us. "Or me." She says, glaring at Beck and André. I don't turn around, learing shortly after I met her to listen to her. "Freddie, you might want to go with Cat. She looks like she's about to explode."

Sure enough, Cat seems to be vibrating where she stands. "Let's go." I tell her, grunting when she pulls me towards the Vega's pool.

"How can a girl that small be that strong?" I hear Mr. Vega ask as I'm dragged to the pool.

No POV

Freddie watches as Cat jumps into the pool after setting her towel on a nearby chair. After a short moment, he eventually joins her, playing games with her while the others cook and chat.

"Having fun?" Tori asks as her and Jade near the pool, setting her towel on a purple beach chair.

"Don't look at Tori." Jade says, setting her towel on a black chair besides Tori's.

"They have they're own chairs. So does everyone else. We need to get you one." Cat says, swimming up to Freddie. "Mine's the red one, Andre's is the white one. Beck has the grey one, and Robbie has the green one."

"Cool. What about your parents?" Freddie asks, looking at Tori.

"They don't have personal chairs. We only do because of how much the others are here." She says, sitting in her chair beside Jade.

"You can have the blue one." Jade says with her eyes closed.

"Why the blue one?" Cat asks, looking at her best friend with a curious eyebrow.

"Because it was supposed to be Trina's, and I want to make her mad." Jade says with a smirk.

"Why do you two hate each other?" Tori asks with a laugh as she puts suntan lotion on her arms and legs.

"Can we play Marco Polo?" Cat asks, looking from Freddie and Tori with a pout.

"Sure thing, little red." André says, joining the others with Beck and Robbie behind him.

"Yay!" She says, clapping with a bright smile on her face. "Who's Marco?" She asks, looking at the others.

"I don't know what that means, but I'll start." Freddie says, looking at the others. "Who's playing?"

"I am." Robbie, André, Beck, Cat, and Tori say.

"Will you play Jadey?" Cat asks, with a pout.

"Don't call me that and no." Jade says smoothly, keeping her eyes closed.

"Please?" Cat says, her pout growing.

"Don't pout at me." The Goth says, shifting slightly.

"Join us." Everyone minus Freddie and Jade starts to say, in a monotone voice.

"What are you guys doing?" Jade asks, looking at the others.

"Join us." They say again, this time, Freddie joining in. "Join us." They repeat, keeping this going every other second.

"Fine!" Jade yells, scaring everyone in the pool. "But I promise you, if you do that again, you will all regret it." She says, glaring at them as she stands up and gets into the pool with the others.

The next few hours are spent with everyone playing a variety of games in and out of the pool. A couple of hours after they got Jade to play with them, Mr. Vega announces that the food is done.

"What took so long?" Jade asks as she gets out of the pool, handing Tori her towel.

"Robbie tried to..."

"Enough said." Jade says, cutting off André. "Let's eat."

The eight teens, originally seven but Trina came home and joined in, follow Mr. Vega to the tables set up outside. Freddie and Cat wind up getting there last, due to Freddie waiting for Cat to get out and dry off enough to put on a pair of shorts and a shirt and her sandles. The eight teens sit around two of the tables. Beck and Trina are sitting at the same table as Tori and Jade, while André, Robbie, Cat, and Freddie sit at the other.

"Will you kids be okay for a few minutes? You're mom asked me to pick her up." Mr. Vega says to the teens.

"We'll be fine, Mr. V. I promise not to maim Trina. Too much." Jade says with a smirk, laughing slightly when Tori elbows her and Trina scoffs.

"Okay. Make sure you burn the body completely. No evidence." Mr. Vega says, used to Jade's joking manner since she and his youngest daughter started dating.

"Dad!" Trina yells as the others laugh at her as her dad leaves, waving goodbye to the kids.

After Mr. Vega leaves, the eight teens make small talk, talking about their plans for when school starts next week.

Trina is going to a community college, no set courses yet, just basic. Tori and André talk about the song their singing at the 'Welcome Back Bash' the day after school starts. Beck and Jade talk about the short film that Sikowitz asked them to help him with for school, and Robbie talks to Cat and Freddie about helping with the backstage stuff.

"What song are you guys singing?" Jade asks her girlfriend and friend.

"We're not sure yet." André says, eating the burger he grabbed. "I got some of the music written, but we can't decide on the lyrics."

"Sikowitz is mean." Tori says, sipping her pink lemonade.

"You guys agreed." Beck says with a laugh. "You know what he's like for the back to school stuff."

"How's your short film then?" André asks, keeping his question to Beck since he knows not to ask Jade, even if she is dating his best friend.

"I already have the script written. Beck can't figure out his stuff." Jade says, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Why is it always my fault?" Beck asks, looking to the others.

"Because no one, not even me, is stupid enough to blame Jade." Tori says with a knowing smirk to the Canadian. "I thought you knew that?" She asks him.

"She seemed nicer since you guys got together." Beck defends himself, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm only nicer to Tori. And André by association because they're best friends." Jade answers, getting up. "Let's go. I'm bored and I want to watch 'The Scissoring: Director's Cut'." She says, grabbing Tori.

"Oh, man." Tori says, grabbing her food and drink, following her girlfriend into the Vega house.

"We need to go anyway. My dad wants me to help him with stuff around the house." Beck says, standing up. "You ready guys?" He asks, looking at André and Robbie.

"Yeah." The others says, standing up as well.

"Why are you guys going with him?" Cat asks, looking at her friends.

"I'm their ride." Beck answers, giving Freddie a handshake and Cat a hug, the others repeating Beck's motions. "See you guys later."

"I'll walk you out." Trina says, standing up and holding Beck's hand.

"You better stay in your room after he leaves." Jade yells to Trina as the four teens enter the house.

"And then there were two." Freddie says, picking up the trash and throwing it away, sitting back beside Cat.

"Want to watch a movie?" Cat asks him, standing up.

"Where at?" Freddie asks, following her.

"Hey Tori? Can Freddie and I watch a movie in your room?" Cat asks, using her pout.

"Sure." Tori says, looking away from the violent movie to talk to her friends.

"Cat, go on ahead. I need to talk to Freddie." Jade says, her eyes never leaving the movie.

"What do you need?" Freddie asks, staying a little closer to Tori.

"If you make a move on her, I kill you like Tawni's killing the guy on screen." Jade says, finally looking away from the movie. Freddie looks at the screen in time to see a jock getting gutted by a pair of scissors. "Do I make my self clear?" She asks in a threatening tone.

"Perfectly." He says, flinching at her tone.

"Jade. You actually think Freddie would do something like that?" Tori asks, glaring at her girlfriend.

"No, but just making myself clear." Jade says, looking back at the screen. "Pay attention. This is what I'll do to anyone who hurts Cat or you."

"Oh, nasty. Can't I watch a movie with Cat and Freddie?" Tori asks with a whine when she sees someone get decapitated by scissors.

"No. See ya Freddie." Jade says, smirking.

**And here is the end of this chapter. Next chapter will be a Freddie/Cat focused chapter, and the last of the cookout. I don't know why, but I felt like doing a Jori focused chapter. Does anyone know the pairing name for Cat and Freddie? I want to say Creddie, but isn't that Carly and Freddie?**

**Anyway, I meant to have this chapter up earlier, and I apologize for taking so long.**

**Thank you for reading, and I look forward to your reviews.**

**Blessed Be.**


	9. Movie Night

"What did Jade want to talk to you about?" Cat asks, coming out of the bathroom as Freddie gets to the top of the stairs.

"Nothing to worry about." He says with a smile, following her into what Freddie assumes to be Tori's room.

"Kay kay." She says, going to Tori's DVD collection. "What do you want to watch?" She asks, looking over her shoulder at Freddie.

"You decide. I don't mind." Freddie says, cautiously sitting on Tori's light purple bed sheets.

"Can you get me something to drink from downstairs please?" Cat asks, putting on a slight pout.

"Sure. What do you want?" Freddie asks with a smile, standing up.

"Just water. There should be bottles in the fridge. I don't think Tori would mind if you grabbed one from there." She says, going through the DVDs.

"Okay. I'll be back in a moment." Freddie says, opening the door and heading downstairs.

"What happened?" Tori asks Freddie, her eyes slightly wide in fear from the movie.

"Nothing. Cat asked me to come down and ger her a drink." Freddie says, stopping slightly at the image of a bloody wedding dress clad woman with dark hair in a field. "What kind of movie is this?" He asks, slowly walking towards the kitchen.

"My kind of movie." Jade answers with a smile. "Grab me some coffee." She says, neither teen knowing who she's talking to since her eyes never leave the screen.

"I'll do it." Tori says, quickly leaving the couch. "Feel free to grab yourself something too." She says to Freddie.

"Thanks. No offense, but your girlfriend's kind of mean." Freddie says, opening the door to the fridge.

"You get used to it." Tori answers, starting the coffee maker. "Black, two sugars?" She says loudly, turning her head to face Jade.

"Yep." Jade answers, still not turning away from the movie.

"Aren't you offended or anything that she practically ignores you when she's watching the movie?" Freddie asks after grabbing the water bottles for him and Cat.

"She doesn't do it often." Tori says with a smile. "She's also doing it to get back at me, and I learned to just let it go."

"Back at you for what?" Freddie asks as he closes the door.

"I made her come here when 'The Scissoring 2' was having a special showing today." Tori says as the coffee brews.

"Didn't you guys watch that when we first hung out after I moved here?" He asks, giving her a confused look.

"Yep. It's a special showing because it's basically the director's cut or something." Tori says, grabbing two sugar packets and waiting.

"Okay." Freddie says, still confused. "Well, I'll see you later. I'm gonna go see what movie Cat picked. See ya Jade."

"See ya." Tori says, pouring the packets in the coffee and stirring it as Jade just grunts in agreement.

"What'd you pick?" Freddie asks, opening the door and handing Cat a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Cat says, setting her water bottle on the counter by Tori's bed. "I picked 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'. Is that okay?" She asks, sitting on the bed and grabbing the remote for the DVD player.

"Sure." Freddie answers, sitting beside her.

"Have you ever seen this movie?" Cat asks as she pushes play, leaning her head on Freddie's shoulder.

"Once or twice." He answers, looking at Cat curiously. "Uhm?"

"I'm a little tired, is it okay that I rest my head on your shoulder?" She asks, looking away from the screen briefly.

"No, just wasn't really expecting it." He replies, sliding down slightly to give Cat a more comfortable position.

"Thanks Freddie." She says as she looks back to the screen.

The two teens sit and watch the movie in silence. At the end of the movie, Freddie checks his phone and sees that it's almost 9.

"Ready to go?" He asks her, sitting up and throwing the empty bottles away.

"Yeah. Thanks for watching the movie with me." Cat says, sitting up and ejecting the disc.

"No problem." Freddie says, putting the DVD case away when Cat hands it to him. "Is Sikowitz the guy I met at Kenan's party last year? The one who tried to scare Beck all night?" He asks as Cat grabs her shoes and puts them back on.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just curious. I couldn't figure it out since you guys started talking about the projects." Freddie says, holding the door so Cat could exit first.

"Thank you." She says, walking out into the hallway. "How did you get involved in helping with the back to school stuff?" She asks, looking at him as she waits by the door to the Trina's room.

"Lane called my mother a week ago and asked if I could help. She agreed, and didn't tell me about it until the next day." Freddie says with a groan, still upset at his mother for doing stuff without informing or asking him. "She told me that it was the gang pretty much."

"Have you noticed that it's always just our gang that does stuff?" Cat asks with a laugh as they head down the stairs.

"I really can't answer that. Before I moved here, I only knew about Steven using Carly and Tori. There haven't really been any weird things since I got here." Freddie says, following Cat to the front door.

"That'll end soon enough." Jade says, standing up. "I'm gonna go babe." She says, giving Tori a quick kiss.

"See ya later." Tori says, following her to the door, giving her a kiss before she leaves. "What movie did you guys watch?" She asks Cat as she goes and grabs the trash and Jade's coffee cup.

"'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'." Cat asks, taking her phone out of her purse. "We gotta go. See you later Tori." She says, giving the Latina a hug.

"See you guys later. Stay safe." Tori says with a smile.

"Want to hang out tomorrow? I know you finally got your schedule, and we can go over our classes." Cat says as they get to her car.

"Sure. Will it be just the two of us, or will the others be there as well?" Freddie asks, curiously, as he climbs into the passenger seat.

"Just us." Cat says, closing the door as she slides in. "Is that okay?" She asks him, taking her keys out of her purse.

"Yeah. We can do it at my place. My mom'll be there, but I doubt she'll be in the way." Freddie says, putting his seat belt on.

"Okay. I'll stop by around noon." She says, starting the car.

"Sounds good. Want me to order anything to eat? Pizza or something?" Freddie asks, turning to face her, as she pulls out of the Vega driveway.

"Sure. Pepperoni."

THe rest of the drive is filled with small talk. As they near Freddie's apartment, Cat's face turns to slightly upset.

"You okay?" Freddie asks, concerned for the red head.

"Do you think we spend too much time together?" Cat asks, pulling into an available parking space.

"Not really." Freddie says, unbuckeling his seat belt, but instead of going to leave, turns to face her. "Why? Do you think we do?"

"No. It's just, I heard Jade say that we spend as much time together as her and Tori, and that she thinks we're dating." She says with a pout.

"Why would we think that? Don't you also spend a lot of time with her and Tori?" Freddie asks, gentle as to not worry her too much more.

"Yeah. But they're my best friends. I don't spend that much time with Beck, André, or Robbie. Not unless it's together as a group." She says, turning to face him. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She asks, out of the blue.

"No. My last girlfriend was Sam, but that was over months ago. Why do you ask?" He says, not seeing the hope in her eyes as he answers her.

"Just asking." She says, turning away to hide her smile. "See you tomorrow Freddie."

"No hug this time? You usually hug goodbye." He asks, slowly getting out of the car.

"You don't mind them?" She asks, turning to face him again, her face slightly confused.

"No. Why would I?" He asks, not hiding his confusion at the question.

"No reason." She says, getting out of her car and following him to the front door. "See you tomorrow." She says, giving him a hug.

"See ya. I'll call you before I order the pizza, okay?" He asks as she pulls away.

"Okay." She says, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

**I have a thing for cliffhangers. Sorry for adding some Jori moments. I'm so used to writing Jori that I'm not really used to writing anything else.**

**Thank you for sticking with me so far, and there is much more to this story. Thanks also for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following both me and the story. It means a lot to me to know that people like my stories.**

**Blessed Be.**


	10. Pizza And Bowling Part 1

**Sorry I took so long to update. I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter.**

**I was on Elizabeth Gillie's IMDb page recently, and it said that there were more episodes of VicTORIous than what aired. Does anyone know this to be true?**

**The episodes claimed are: _Cheater Girl, Cupcake Girls, The Show Must Go On, Tori In Love, Tori With A Secret, and Tori Fights A Girl._**

**I checked youtube and google, but nothing came up that made sense. All I found on youtube were episodes of similar names from other shows. And google didn't bring up anything useful other than the IMDb page.**

**If anyone finds out if they're real, please let me know. Also, Liz did a short film on youtube called 'The Death And Return Of Superman'. If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend it. She only has a short role, but it's not bad. Jeanette McCurdy, Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, and a few other celebrities were in it too. It's kind of funny. Too bad her part was so short though, only being seen for about a minute in the second part of the video.**

**Anyway, sorry for taking more time on an author's note than I usually do. Here's the next chapter of 'A New Beginning'.**

The Next day, Freddie wakes up courtesy of his mother doing some cleaning around the apartment. When he rolls out of bed, he grabs a change of clothes and heads into the bathroom, giving his mother a quick hug as he passes. While he showers, he can't help but think about the kiss last night. He wasn't expecting it, but he has no complaints about it.

"Freddie?" His mother yells through the door.

"Yeah?" He asks as he washes the shampoo out of his hair.

"I got called in for an extra shift at the hospital. If you need me, call. I'll be back tonight."

"Okay. See you later." He says, turning the water off and grabbing a towel.

"I'll check in around lunch time." She yells, sounding hurried.

"Okay. Talk to later." He says, drying himself off.

He doesn't hear anything else after that, only the door to the apartment opening and closing. After getting dressed, he combs his hair back, but due to its shortness, it only really spikes slightly because of it still being partly wet.

After tossing his dirty clothes and towel in the hamper, he heads back to his room and grabs his phone, checking the time and any missed calls or texts. Seeing that it's almost 9, and no missed messages, he locks his phone and puts it in his pocket. Grabbing a banana from the kitchen as a quick meal, he heads into the living room and turns the tv on, watching random shows until his phone goes off due to a text around 10:30.

_-Hey. I hope it's okay that I head over early.- Cat V._

_-Sure. I'll order the pizza now then.- Freddie B._

_-Kay kay!- Cat V._

After the quick text exchange, Freddie dials the number for the local pizza place and orders a large pepperoni pizza and breadstick. After hanging up, he heads into his room and grabs his school schedule from the folder he put it in. Heading back into the living room, he sits and waits for a knock at the door, which comes 20 minutes later. Opening the door, he sees the pizza delivery guy holding the bag they put the pizzas in to keep them warm.

"One pepperoni pizza and breadsticks. That'll be $10.60." The delivery guy says, sliding the pizza and breadsticks out.

"Here you go." Freddie says, handing the guy exact change, learning to do that to make things easier. After grabbing the pizza and breadsticks, he bids farewell to the delivery guy before closing the door and taking the food to the kitchen, grabbing two plates, some napkins, and two cups out of the kitchen.

"Knock knock." Cat says from the other side of the door after knocking twice.

"Hey. Good morning." Freddie says as he opens the door, gasping in shock when Cat gives him a tight hug.

"Morning." She says with a smile as she releases him. "Sorry for stopping by so early." She says, following him to the couches.

"No problem. May I ask why, though?" He asks curiously, facing her.

"My brother was being weird again." She says as if it's a simple thing.

"I don't want to know, do I?" Freddie asks, slowly sitting down beside her.

"No." She says, shaking her head with a smile.

"Okay. You thirsty? We have water, fruit punch, and lemonade. My mom doesn't really allow soda." Freddie says, going to stand up in case she says yes.

"Sure. A glass of water please." She says, smiling when Freddie smiles at her with an affirmative. "Where's your mom?" She asks, getting up and following him to the kitchen.

"Work. They called her in for an earlier shift. How many slices of pizza and breadsticks do you want?" He asks, pouring the water from a bottle of purified water in the fridge.

"Two of each?" She asks, thanking him when he hands her the glass of water. "How come you got the water from the fridge?" She asks as Freddie pours himself a glass then grabs the plates.

"My mom's afraid of contaminates in tap water, so she buys purified water all the time." He answers, grabbing two slices of pizza from the box and sets them on a plate, grabbing two breadsticks next and places them next to the pizza. After grabbing a napkin, he hands it to her.

"Your mom's protective of you, isn't she?" Cat asks with a small laugh, thanking him for the food.

"You could say that. Of course, Sam always called her crazy and Carly always politely avoided the topic." Freddie says as he grabs himself some food, stopping momentarily at thoughts of his friends.

"You miss them." Cat says, noticing his actions.

"Yeah, I do. I've been friends with Carly shortly after she became friends with Sam. I didn't become Sam's friend until around the time iCarly started, and that was only because of Carly. Gibby and Spencer are awesome friends too." He says with a sad smile, closing the pizza box and setting the remaining pizza and breadsticks on the counter. "Anyways, since we're on the topic of friends, how long have you known the gang?" He asks, smiling slightly as he follows her to the living room and sits beside her on the couch.

"I've known Jade since we were kids. We grew up together since elementary school. Beck followed soon after. I didn't know him that well until he and Jade started dating. After him, I met Robbie and André, both through Beck. Trina came my first year of Hollywood Arts, and Tori a couple of years later when she joined." Cat answers, taking a bit of her pizza.

"That's cool. Jade and Tori seem protective of you. They all do, actually." Freddie notes, remembering his conversations with Jade, Tori, and the others since he moved to LA.

"We're like a family. We protect each other. You're apart of the family now too, so give it time before they look out for you." She says, wiping her hands with the napkin.

The two sit in comfortable silence as they eat, making small talk every once in a while. When they both finish their food, Freddie grabs the plates and cups, heading into the kitchen.

"You want anymore water?" He asks as he sets the plates in the sink, rinsing them off first so an excess pizza sauce or something won't stick.

"Actually, can I have some lemonade instead?" She asks, throwing away her napkin.

"Sure." He says, pouring the lemonade into the glass, pouring himself some more water. "Do you have your schedule?" He asks as he rejoins her in the living room.

"Yep." She says as she grabs her purse. "Where's yours?"

"Should be on the table." He says as he sits down. "Ah, here it is." He says, grabbing it.

"Yay!" Cat says happily. "Let's compare classes."

"Sure."

They spend the next twenty minutes going over their shared classes. They both have Sikowitz, a free period after lunch to be filled with a class of their choosing if they wish, and their Science and English classes.

"We have Sikowitz and free period with the others. We also have Science with Tori and Jade, and English with Beck and André. You share your Math class with Robbie, Beck, and Tori. Other than that, not a lot of shared classes." Cat says, the last part with a slight pout.

"How'd you know about the others?" He asks, folding up his schedule and setting it aside.

"I talked to them earlier today. I was seeing if they had plans for this afternoon, see if the gang wanted to get together one last tome before school starts on Monday."

"Oh, cool. Anything?"

"Tori and Jade are going to Nozu for a date at 6, but nothing else after that." Cat says, putting her schedule in her purse and setting it on the ground.

"Well, how about bowling? I haven't bowled in a while." Freddie says, glancing at her.

"I'll ask." She says, taking out her phone and sending a mass text to the others. "Want to watch a movie?" She asks, looking up from her phone.

"Sure. I'm gonna put my schedule away and put the rest of the pizza in the stove to keep it warmer longer. Pick whatever you want." He says, grabbing his schedule and standing up.

"Kay kay." She says as she watches him leave. When he goes into his room, she stands up and goes though the DVD collection beside the tv. After searching quickly, she decides on 'Raise Your Voice' and takes out the disk.

"What'd you decide on?" Freddie asks, heading into the kitchen to put the food away.

"'Raise Your Voice', with Hilary Duff." She says with a smile.

"Cool." He says, sitting beside her.

The two spend a few hours, watching 'A Cinderella Story' second. After the movie, Cat gets up to leave, saying she's needed at home. Partway through the first movie, Cat gets texts from the others, agreeing to the plans. They all decide to meet at the bowling alley at 7, all deciding to eat before hand.

"See you later Cat." Freddie says, walking with Cat outside to her car.

"See ya. I'll call you when I'm on my way." Cat says as they get to her car.

After watching Cat drive away, Freddie heads back into his apartment and relaxes. He spends the day making sure he has everything ready for school in a few days. By 6, he grabs a couple more slices of pizza and breadsticks to eat, working on a last minute project for the tech theater class he's taking.

"Evening Freddie." His mom says as she enters the apartment around 6:30. "How was your day?"

"Good. Cat came over and we went over our schedules for school. There's pizza and breadsticks in the stove." Freddie says as he puts his PearBook away.

"You've been spending a lot of time with her." Mrs. Benson states, setting her bag on the kitchen counter.

"With her friends as well." Freddie defends himself, curious at his mom's tone. Watching as his mother goes into her room, he gets a text.

_-I'll be there in a bit.- Cat V._

_-Okay. I'll be outside.- Freddie B._

"Mom, I'm going bowling with the others. I'll be back in a couple of hours." Freddie says, putting his PearBook in his room, grabbing his wallet.

"Be safe." She answers, leaving her room in more casual clothes. "Who's all going?" She asks, following her son into the living room.

"Cat, Tori, Jade, Beck, André, and Robbie. Not sure if Trina's going." He says, stopping at the door.

"Okay. Who's your ride?"

"Cat." He says, hesitating.

"Okay. Have fun." She says, sitting on the couch, going over some paper work.

"Okay?" He says, slowly opening the door and leaving. After walking down stairs, he sees Cat already in a parking spot. "Sorry I took so long. My mom came home and we were talking." He says when Cat unlocks the passenger door and he sits down.

"That's okay. Jade texted me, she said they're on their way."

"Okay." He says, putting on his seat belt as she pulls out of the parking spot and heading towards the bowling alley.

**Again, sorry for taking so long to update. Next chapter will be the bowling game. If anything doesn't make sense, I apologize. I used the 'knock knock' thing because of her doing that on 'Sam & Cat'. I didn't know what to expect with the show, and I admit to liking it.**

**I'll try to update sooner next time, it just depends on when I can get the chapter written.**

**Thank you all for reading and for your reviews.**

**Blessed Be.**


	11. Pizza And Bowling Part 2

The ride to the bowling alley is filled with comfortable silence while random songs play in the background from Cat's Pearpod.

"Are you any good at bowling?" Cat asks as the pull into the bowling alley parking lot.

"Decent. I haven't really bowled too much over the last few years. Mainly, I only bowled with Carly and Sam. Well, Carly more than Sam." He says as Cat pulls into a parking space.

"How come?" She asks, shutting off her car and placing her Pearpod in her purse. "Was Sam too competitive?"

"Yep. You have your own ball?" He asks her when she grabs a bowling bag from behind the driver's seat.

"Uh-huh." She says with a smile. "You don't?" She asks with a small frown when she sees he doesn't grab anything other than his bowling shoes.

"No. I did but I let Spencer use it, thinking it was to bowl. Turns out, he made a sculpture with it." He answers, following her to the door. "Are we meeting the others inside?" He asks as the go to open the door.

"Pay attention Benson. We're right behind you." Jade says, scaring him.

"Must you be mean to people?" Tori asks, one arm around Jade's waist, the other holding a bowling bag.

"As I've said in Yerba, yes I must." Jade says with a smile, a bowling bag of her own.

"Am I the only one without a bowling ball of my own?" Freddie asks when the others join, all with bowling balls.

"Apparently." Jade says, pulling Tori forward. "We'll get the lane. Meet you inside."

"You get used to her. Eventually." Tori says in defense to her girlfriend as the two girls enter the bowling alley.

"She's right. It just takes a while." Beck says, laughing slightly. "Ready to go in?"

"Let's go." André says, holding the door open for Cat and Freddie.

"Don't let Jade get to you. I actually think she likes you. Kind of. In a way." Cat says as they near Jade and Tori.

"It's okay. She reminds me of Sam a bit." Freddie says, standing beside Cat.

"Lane 18." Jade says, heading towards the lane. "If you need shes, tell the guy and pay. We'll be at the lane."

"I think she's actually meaner than Jade." Freddie says as he follows Cat and the others to the lane. "Where are the bowling balls?" He asks Cat as the set their stuff down at one of the tables by the lane.

"Over there. They're organized by weight." Cat says, pointing in the direction where the balls are.

"Thanks. I'll be back in a minute." He tells her, heading over to get a ball. Deciding on a 12 pound, blue ball, he heads back to the others. "Where's Robbie and Trina?" He asks when he notices that they haven't showed up.

"Trina has a 'date'." Tori says, setting her purple bowling ball with the others.

"Robbie has to help Sikowitz work on something last minute for school." Beck says, setting his white ball with red leaf by Tori's.

"Is that a Canadian flag bowling ball?" Freddie asks, setting his ball beside it.

"Yep. He's had it since he lived in Canada." Jade says, setting her solid black ball on the other side of Tori's.

"What's on your ball?" Cat asks, setting a sparkly pink ball beside Jade's.

"Scissors." Jade answers, taking her boots off and putting on her bowling shoes.

"No surprise there." Tori says, putting her bowling shoes on as well.

The teens do the same, Andre's black ball with white stripes going in last. After they all put their shoes on, they input their names on the list.

"Let's play teams. Boys versus girls." Jade says, smirking at the guys.

"No. Last time we did that, we lost by over 150 points." Beck says, glaring at Jade.

"That was because Robbie sucks at bowling." Jade says, setting up the teams. "Who knows? Maybe Freddie won't leave you guys with such a gap."

"I get the feeling we don't have a choice." Freddie says, tying his shoes.

"You don't." Tori says, smirking. "Cat, what are you doing?" She asks when she sees the small redhead typing something on the player list.

"I'm giving us team names." She says with a smile. "The girls are Catorade, and the guys are Frandreck."

"Huh?" Everyone says, eyeing her in confusion.

"Cat. Tori. Jade. Catorade. Freddie. André. Beck. Frandreck." She says, explaining the names.

"Why is your name first?" Jade asks, picking up her ball to start.

"It makes more sense than Joriat to me."

"Joriat?" Beck asks, still confused.

"Jade. Tori. Cat." Tori says, understanding it. "I kind of like that one more myself." She whispers to Jade.

"I agree." Jade answers, going to the lane.

The game starts, and not really surprising, the girls are in the lead halfway though the game.

"I'm hungry." Cat says with a whine after she threw her ball, getting a spare.

"I'll take her." Freddie says when Beck goes for his turn. "Anyone want anything?"

With a chorus of no's from the others, the two teens leave to get food.

"Thanks for coming Freddie." Cat says as she picks out slice of pepperoni pizza and bottle of water.

"No problem." He says, paying for her food. "Ready?" He asks as they leave the small food court.

"Yep."

"Benson. You're turn." Jade says, holding Tori on her lap.

"On it." He says, grabbing his ball.

"Why do you call him 'Benson'?" Tori asks, leaning into Jade.

"Because I can't really call you Vega anymore, I don't call anyone else by their last name unless I'm mad at them, and he's the new guy." Jade answers as Freddie throws his ball, getting six pins on his attempt.

"I don't know how to respond to that." Freddie says as he waits for his ball to return.

"Just be lucky she hasn't poured iced coffee on your head." Tori says with a sigh, laughing when Jade hits her arm.

"Who did she do that to?" Freddie asks, grabbing his ball.

"Me." Tori says, groaning.

"Please tell me this was before you two started dating?" Freddie asks, lining up his shot.

"It happened the day I met her, which was close to two years before we had our first date." Tori answers, standing up. "I'll be back. I have to pee." She says, pecking Jade on the lips before rushing off.

"It's all Beck's fault." Jade says simply after Freddie knocks down all but one pin. "He just had to spill his coffee on himself and blame it on Tori."

"What? She bumped into me and spilled the coffee I was holding for you. We've been over this." Beck says, facing his ex-girlfriend.

"Are you blaming my girlfriend?" Jade asks, standing up.

"Uh?" Tori says, re-joining her friends. "What's going on here?"

"You don't want to know." Cat says, giggling.

At the end of the game, the girls cheer while the boys groan.

"We beat you just as bad as last time." Jade says with a triumphant grin as they leave the bowling alley.

"It's not our fault." André says, heading towards Beck's car.

"Yeah, it's Beck's. I thought Robbie was bad, but you're worse." Jade says, breaking off with Tori towards her car.

"It was not." Beck says, stopping at his car.

"Fight nice children." Tori says, getting in between her girlfriend and Beck.

"Have fun guys." Cat says, waving to her friends. "I need to get home. My brother's freaking out again." She says, checking her phone. "Come on Freddie." She says, pulling him away.

"See you guys later." Freddie says, looking over his shoulder.

"Did you have fun?" Cat asks, placing her bag on the backseat before climbing in the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I did." Freddie says with a smile as he enters the passenger side.

On the way to Freddie's apartment, the two make more small talk, getting to know each other some more.

"Ready for your first day of school?" Cat asks, pulling in front of the apartment.

"Yeah. As ready as I can be for a performance arts school when I never acted or anything before. Not including iCarly." He says, opening the door.

"Since your apartment is on my way to school, want me to pick you up on the way?" Cat asks, stopping Freddie from going in too quickly.

"Sure. What time?" He asks, looking at her.

"7:15? We can get there early for your first few days to help you get ready." She says, smiling at him.

"Sure. Talk to you later Cat." He says, climbing in to give her a hug.

"See ya later Freddie." Cat says, returning the hug.

Watching from the window of the apartment, Freddie watches as Cat drives home, a smile on his face.

"How was bowling?" Freddie's mother asks as he enters the apartment.

"It was good. It became boys against girls." He says, sitting beside his mother while she works on some paperwork for the hospital.

"Who won?" She asks, putting some of the papers in a folder.

"The girls." Freddie says, going to stand up again. "I'm gonna put my shoes away and change into some comfy clothes." Freddie says, heading to his room.

"Ready for your first day of school?" She asks, yelling through the closed door of her son's room.

"Yeah. Cat said she'll pick me up since it's on her way." Freddie says, grabbing some sleep shorts and a t-shirt.

"Okay. I'm gonna head to bed early. I have to be at the hospital before sunrise." She yells from the door.

"Okay. If I don't see you before you leave, I love you." He says as he changes.

"I love you too." She says back, heading into her room.

After he changes, Freddie leaves his room, seeing that his mom isn't in the living room. He heads into the kitchen and grabs some pizza and puts in the microwave, heating it up while he checks his phone for messages.

_-Hey Freddie. It's Cat. I just want to let you know that you'll need to have a design for your locker. It's a Hollywood Arts tradition. Also, you should make an account on . It's something for Hollywood Arts students.- Cat V._

_-Okay. Do I need to make the account before school?- Freddie B._

_-No, but it'll help.- Cat V._

"Night Freddie." His mom says, walking into the kitchen as the microwave goes off, letting Freddie know his pizza is warmed.

"Night mom. See you tomorrow." He says, hugging her.

"See you tomorrow." She says, grabbing a bottle of water and heading into her room.

After his mom's door closes, Freddie grabs the pizza slice and sits at the dining room table to eat his pizza, making his account on TheSlap.

After making his account, he finishes his pizza and washes the plate and his hands, heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Heading to his room, he gets a message on his phone from TheSlap, someone named HappyCat.

_HappyCat-Congrats on your account!_

_FreddieB-Thanks._

The two teens spend the rest of the night chatting, eventually the others join in as well. By nine, Freddie tells everyone goodnight and he heads to bed, having a private chat with Cat for another half hour before they both go to bed.

**And here is the new chapter. The names on TheSlap will be the real ones, at least as well as I know. The info I use will either come from the show, videos on , or the Victorious Wiki.**

**Has anyone heard about the possibility of a Victorious final episode? I saw on Dan Schneider's twitter that Elizabeth, Ariana, Daniella, and Leon want to go through with it. I haven't heard about Victoria, Avan, or Matt yet though. If this is true and they make a final episode, I'll be upset because I don't have cable anymore and probably won't get it anytime soon. My only hope will be to watch it on youtube after someone posts it, or get it with iTunes.**

**Just thought I'd mention that.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing, as well as favorites and follows.**

**And thanks to Jeremy Shane for telling me that IMDb isn't reliable. I admit, I tend to be gullible at times.**

**If any facts are wrong, feel free to inform me.**

**Blessed Be.**


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